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Spend time with minorities

Sun., July 17, 2016

One of the best, most upstanding men I know is a black teacher, originally from Uganda. He is cultured, speaks impeccable English and French and wears a jacket and tie to school. Yet he is frequently stopped by police whose first question is inevitably, “Whose car is this?” Is he bitter? No, more sad, really, that this should happen so frequently. Police have a tough job and certainly they must stop many people of different races. He gets that and even sympathizes with police because he is a fair man and an empathetic man. However, if that stop is motivated purely by skin colour or is a trumped up “failure to signal” stop, then that must change. Is it too much to ask that my friend should expect fair and equitable treatment? There are no easy solutions, I know. Like people themselves, the issue is very complicated. Let’s start with better screening of police recruits and, as a prerequisite to graduation, each recruit must spend a year working among the minorities within the city in which he/she chooses to work. It’s amazing how quickly stereotypes fade when getting to know other people individually. This deeper understanding of the various ethnicities and races can only help make for a better police service.

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